2014 Philadelphia (P) & Dollar (D) Kennedy 50th Anniversary Half Dollar ($1/2) 2 Piece (pc) BU Set in Original Government Packaging (OGP)

2014 marks the 50^th year anniversary of the initial release of the iconic Kennedy Half Dollar coin. The original Kennedy fifty cent piece was approved just over a month after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Proposed by newly installed President Lyndon Johnson, the new design had to be approved by Congress in quick order to meet the target mint date of early 1964. Congressional approval was required as an exception to a law that stated a design on any given coin could only be changed after 25 years in production (the Benjamin Franklin design featured on the fifty cent piece at that time had only been in place for 15 years). This exception was approved allowing the design to move forward.

The obverse of Kennedy Half Dollars was designed by Gilroy Roberts and depicts a forceful bust of John F. Kennedy’s profile. The original 1964 design that First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had helped select has been updated with minor detail changes over the years, but the 2014 releases feature the original design. Obverse inscriptions on the new coins include LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and the year 2014.

The reverse of the coin features the Presidential Coat of Arms - consisting of a heraldic eagle holding a bundle of 13 arrows and a symbolic olive branch, with a shield on its breast and surrounded by a ring of 50 stars. This classic design was created by Frank Gasparro. Inscriptions on the reverse include UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM and HALF DOLLAR.